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Chapter Eighteen

After supper, they retired to Daniel’s study to examine the contents of the mahogany box. He poured Elsa a sherry, hoping a drink might settle her nerves. She had held the box on her lap during the journey home, cradling it as if it were the Ark of the Covenant. Not that he blamed her. The letters inside bore a secret that had nearly cost Elsa her life.

“If you would prefer to read them in private, I can make myself scarce,” he said, placing the drink on the side table beside her.

Her eyes widened. “No, I want you here with me.”

He nodded, poured himself a brandy and came to sit beside her. “Well? Are you going to open it?”

She ran her hand over the polished wood and exhaled slowly. “My mother went to great lengths to hide this. The responsibility to keep it safe falls on me.”

“On us?” he corrected.

She met his gaze and smiled. “Yes, on us.”

After taking a sip of sherry, she turned the silver key and raised the lid. A whisper of mildew and dried lavender escaped from the velvet-lined box.

Elsa stared at the neatly stacked letters tied with ribbon as if afraid to touch them. The ink had faded, but Miss Cynthia Wright’s name could be read clearly.

“These are addressed to Cynthia,” she said, mustering the courage to untie the ribbon. She read one, then another, her hand flying to her chest. “They’re from Clarence. Their love shines through every foxed page.”

He reached into the box and took the pile addressed to Clarence. While Cynthia’s love was also apparent, so was her fear of his family.

They read each letter, discussing how something so beautiful had ended in tragedy. How easy it was to lose everything? Yet here was the proof nothing could silence the love in one’s heart.

“Do you know how precious these are?” she said, hugging the heavily creased paper to her chest. “Josephine and Terence will always be my grandparents, but now Clarence and Cynthia are too. It hurt to think I would never know them. Yet I feel like I’m stepping into their world, sharing their love and losses.”

Her eyes dimmed when she noticed the last letter in the box.

“I can read it to you,” he said. “If it makes it any easier.”

“Please do.”

His heart sank as he read the account of what had happened in Port Noir. Josephine described how Cynthia had pressed the child into her arms, urging her to run and uphold her oath. Terence had returned later to find the couple dead and had hidden when men arrived to load the bodies into a boat .

“The men hunted for the child before agreeing to save their own necks and pretend she’d fallen overboard,” he said solemnly. “Witnesses came forward, claiming they’d seen the family on the lake, and the authorities discovered the capsized boat the next day.”

“They must have paid the witnesses to lie.” Elsa wiped tears from her eyes. “But why? Why would a father kill his own son? What sort of monster destroyed a loving family?”

“Disappointment is a strong motive for murder among the aristocracy. They think they’re above the law.” And he knew that weak men often used anger as a crutch.

“What does this have to do with me?”

“Lord Denby must have discovered there were witnesses to the crime and feared the truth might come to light. If you married him, your family would have a reason to keep the secret buried.”

Elsa shook her head. “It sounds plausible, but why not explain it to Magnus? Why keep him in the dark?”

Yes, something seemed off.

Had Magnus accepted a bribe? Had he been paid for his silence?

Lord Grafton’s warning echoed in Daniel’s mind.

Save Elsa Tyler!

Was he supposed to save her from Magnus or Denby?

He was still contemplating the question when a loud thud echoed on the front door, and fate arrived in the guise of Rothley, bearing an unexpected boon.

“Forgive the interruption,” Rothley said, bursting into the study and dragging Magnus Tyler behind him by the scruff of his coat. “I found the stray skulking in the street near Denby’s club. I considered tying him in a sack and tossing him in the Thames but thought you’d like to speak to him first. ”

“Magnus!” Elsa shoved the letters in the box and hid it behind the chair. “I thought you were in Geneva.”

Any respect Daniel once held for his brother-in-law had turned to boiling disdain. “I doubt he even made it to Dover.”

Rothley released the golden-haired coward. “Oh, he went to Geneva but returned two months ago. You can thank the Earl of Berridge—he promised to tear up the vowels of any man who helped me find your brother.”

Although Daniel’s temper flared, it was Elsa who gritted her teeth and stepped forward. “You came home and didn’t bother to visit me at The Grange? You realise I was shot while trying to discover who murdered Mr Carver?”

“Yes,” Magnus grumbled, tugging his coat sleeves. “The marquess told me when he bundled me into his carriage and tried to strangle me with my cravat.”

“I was rather polite until you forced me to act like a heathen.” Rothley strode to the decanters on the console table, poured a stiff brandy and swallowed it swiftly.

So many questions whirled through Daniel’s mind that he could only scowl at Magnus in furious silence.

“Well?” Elsa demanded. “I’m waiting for an explanation. Let’s begin by you sitting there”—she pointed to the leather wingback chair—“and telling us everything you know about the deceitful Mr Carver.”

One irate glare from Daniel had the fop falling into the seat.

“Can I at least have a drink? A brandy won’t go amiss. I’ve been standing outside White’s for hours, chilled to the marrow of my bones.”

“Did you kill Carver?” Daniel blurted, refusing to wait another second before hearing this fool’s confession.

Magnus flinched. “Of course not. ”

“Did you find Elsa in the woods and put her in Carver’s bed to force me to marry her?” Had he staged the scene, knowing Daniel loved her?

“What?” Deep frown lines etched his brow. “You think I would drug and humiliate my own sister? Everything happened as I said. Elsa went missing. I asked for your help to locate her, and we found her in that terrible state.”

Instinct said Magnus was telling the truth. Still, he had lied about many things. “Who do you think killed Carver?”

Magnus jerked like it was a stupid question. “If I knew that, I would sleep better at night. Whoever it is has connections. I fled Port Noir in fear for my life.”

“Why did you choose to hide in Port Noir?” Elsa asked, showing no sympathy for her brother’s plight.

The shifty look in Magnus’ ice-blue eyes confirmed he was not as ignorant as he pretended. “It’s something Father said while dosed with morphine on his deathbed. The crux of his problem with Denby lay in Port Noir. Then he begged me not to let you marry the lord.”

Daniel felt the devil’s fury consume him. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that before you left for Geneva? I spent months investigating your father’s business associates, all to no avail.”

He’d abandoned his wife and might have lost her forever had she not come to London to confront him.

“Because my father said you were the only one strong enough to save Elsa, and I feared you would insist on coming with me to Geneva.”

Elsa clutched her abdomen as if it pained her. “Father said that? You knew my life was in danger before the incident with Mr Carver?”

Magnus’s cheeks flushed red, as obvious as blood on snow. “It was after Father died. I read the letter addressed to you, which he’d hidden in his Bible. He said to solve a puzzle, one must begin at the beginning.”

Heat flooded Daniel’s palms. The desire to shake Magnus had him clenching his fists at his sides. “What else did the letter say?”

“That Denby had tried to ruin Father to hide a secret. That’s why I went to Port Noir, but no one there knew Lord Denby. Father said Elsa should trust no one. That Gothic tales echo the truth of real life.”

Magnus’ admission answered one question.

Elsa’s parents were right to leave a trail of confounding clues. If Magnus knew what had really happened in Port Noir years ago, he would have confronted Denby and found himself dead in a ditch.

“If only I’d found Father’s journal,” Magnus continued, frustrated with himself. “I’m certain he kept proof of Denby’s misdeeds.”

Daniel looked at Elsa, willing her not to mention the blue book. “Strange you say that when Charmers insists you were behind the schemes to ruin your father. He’s in custody now, facing charges of fraud. There’s evidence confirming Carver was also involved.”

Looking as guileless as a babe, Magnus shook his head. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean. Carver was inept, always misplacing things and bungling the accounts. But Father trusted him. As for me, why would I steal from my own coffers?”

Daniel fell silent.

Damn the fool. He was right. A line in Lord Grafton’s final message confirmed Carver was the intermediary. That he alone knew the identity of the devil behind it all .

“Mr Charmers must have lied,” Elsa said, looking relieved.

But Daniel hadn’t finished with Magnus. “What about the men you hired to watch Edenberry? You never mentioned that either. You knew I’d hired a retired runner.”

“I took my father’s advice and decided to trust no one. Wasn’t it better to have three men watching the house?”

“Is that why you didn’t tell me you were in London? Because you think I’m untrustworthy too?”

Magnus pushed his hands through his blonde hair. “When I was attacked in Geneva, I knew I had to come home and find answers. I didn’t mean to keep you in the dark; I was just trying to spare you more trouble. I’ve spent countless nights searching Edenberry, looking for that damned journal.”

Elsa inhaled sharply. “Did you shoot me?”

Her brother’s brows shot up in disbelief. “No!”

“But you did send the letters to The Grange, informing Clara that Daniel had a mistress and had bought me for two shillings.”

Magnus winced. “Yes, but I thought if Denby saw you in town, he might reveal his hand or at least give me a clue as to what the devil is going on here.”

The news came as no surprise to Daniel. No one else had known about the two shillings, though half of London knew now. “I suppose you dressed as a vagrant and stole the books Elsa took from Edenberry’s library.”

“Yes, but they were just Mother’s old novels.”

Daniel glanced at the ceiling and prayed for restraint.

“Do you still have the copy of The Italian ?” Elsa said, perhaps wondering if there was a secret message they’d missed. “I would really like to examine it.”

Magnus shrugged. “At my lodging house, but we have more important matters to attend to than reading Mother’s novels, Elsa.”

Daniel couldn’t recall ever wanting to punch a man more than he did Magnus Tyler. “That book might hold a vital clue, you imbecile.”

“Finnegan said there was nothing written inside. Still, for a price, he gave them to me anyway.”

Daniel launched himself at the useless fop.

Rothley moved with the silent speed of a panther, positioning himself between Daniel and the clown in the chair. “Why waste effort on a halfwit?”

Daniel stepped back and tugged his coat sleeves. “I suppose you know where I might find the elusive Finnegan and Mrs Tate.”

“I paid them to make themselves scarce. I knew you wouldn’t send Elsa back to The Grange without protection.”

Elsa took a cushion from the chair and hurled it at her brother. “At any point, did you consider keeping Daniel informed of your pathetic attempts at playing the amateur investigator?”

Magnus raised his hands, bracing for another feather-filled assault. “I was trying to avoid dragging you into this mess.”

“A splendid plan,” Rothley said with dripping sarcasm. “Shall we toast your martyrdom with brandy? Let’s look on the bright side. I’m confident we can strike you off the list of devious suspects.”

A knock on the study door brought light relief.

Signora Conti entered, gripping a letter, not the silver tea tray. “Sorry for the intrusion, but a gentleman, he has just delivered a note. He said it requires your immediate attention. ”

Daniel thanked his housekeeper. “Is Clara home?”

“No, but the countess promised to see her safely to the door.”

He dismissed Signora Conti and broke the seal on the missive. “It must be news from Daventry.” He rolled his eyes at Magnus. “At least some people keep me abreast of important developments.”

Daniel read the letter twice before his pulse soared and he cursed Denby to the fiery pits of hell. “Of all the bloody nerve.”

“What is it?” Elsa was beside him in a second.

“Denby has offered a formal challenge, demanding satisfaction for the injury caused when I married his betrothed.” He glanced at Rothley, whose eyes shone with quiet menace. “He says there’s no need to name seconds. I’m to visit him at home this evening to discuss terms.”

Elsa gripped his arm tightly. “Don’t go. Tell him we’ll pay damages. A sum to negate the insult. No announcements were made. It’s merely a case of breach of contract. If anyone should answer for that, it’s my brother.”

Magnus stood. “I’ll go with you. As Elsa said, Denby’s argument is with me. I’m sure we can come to a financial agreement.”

Unless Denby wanted Daniel dead so he could marry Elsa.

Or did he know they had evidence of his family’s secret?

“The man must have marbles for brains,” Rothley mocked, though his expression was as tight as a drawn bow. “He won’t stand a chance against you, not with pistols or rapiers.”

“My husband is not fighting a duel,” Elsa declared firmly.

“Then society will brand him a coward. ”

“What does that matter?”

“It matters to me,” Daniel said, slipping a reassuring arm about her waist, though inwardly he seethed. “Such a stain upon my honour would cast a shadow over our children.”

Elsa touched her abdomen as if she might already be carrying his child. “Like us, they’ll be strong enough to weather the storm.”

“I’ll speak to Denby and hear his terms,” he said. If Elsa agreed, he could use the information about Clarence Denby to their advantage. “Perhaps I’ll hint at what we uncovered today.”

He saw the flicker of conflict in her eyes—the fear they might never be free of this torment and that the truth would be buried with them. “Do whatever you must,” she said softly. “Only promise me you’ll come home.”

Home!

He had never had so much to lose. The woman he loved was finally his. For the first time in years, the future held promise. Yet a quiet dread lingered. Perhaps their love story was not destined for a happy ending.